Why People Seek Out Volcanoes

Active volcanoes aren't friendly. They're the angry, volatile friends in your life who are prone to throwing fits and spitting lava, rocks, and hot vapor in your face. Not the kind of friend you want to plan a vacation with.

But I'll go there. I'll book a trip around an active volcano—in fact, I've done it more than once. Getting as close to lava as humanly possible has long been on the top of my bucket list. I trekked to Nea Kameni in Greece to see its active sulfur vents, and to Nicaragua to glimpse the red glow at Masaya. Best of all, though, was a recent trip to Hawaii, where I actually saw a torrent of lava flow into the ocean at Kīlauea Volcano's Kamokuna entry. Liquid became solid, and land actually formed before my eyes.

Word has gotten out about Mother Nature's show. A National Park Service (NPS) report says that more than 1.8 million people visited Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in 2015, up 8.25 percent from 2014. Volcano hunting hasn't suddenly become trendy—this park has seen a steady rise in visitors since 2009. The same holds true for sites around the world.

“We’ve definitely seen an increase in our trips that visit volcanoes,” says Saul Burrow, global head of product for Topdeck Travel. “In fact, our Kiwi Encounter trip, which visits Tongariro National Park—home to two active volcanoes—is one of our most booked trips for 2018.”

Kirk Reynolds, CEO of Discover Outdoors, noticed a similar trend in bookings for his company’s week-long, volcano-specific trips to Nicaragua; they're looking into possibly expanding their volcano trek options. “There are undoubtedly more people interested in seeing volcanoes,” he says. “Adventure travel, in general, is growing, so it was natural that hiking volcanoes and surfing volcanoes would become more popular for travelers.”

Wait, surfing volcanoes? It's not enough just to want to see a bubbling natural cauldron? As people barrel down Cerro Negro in Nicaragua on everything from surfboards to fridge doors, taking the obsession to a new level, we had to ask: What's the allure?

“It both captures the imagination and defies logic,” says Tony DeLellis, co-owner of KaphoKine Adventures, which leads several volcano tours to Kīlauea. “To watch liquid rock rise up from the center of the earth and then cool, darken, and harden before your very eyes is mesmerizing.”

A view from the top: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

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It’s this very description that captivated me most during my visit to Hawaii in September. Along with setting up a tour with KaphoKine Adventures to see the lava fields and erupting summit from Jaggar Museum's observation deck, I also booked a trip with Hawaiian Lava Boat Tours to see the lava ocean entry. During just 30 minutes of bobbing up and down off the shores of Kīlauea, land disappeared while simultaneously being created as hot molten rock cooled. The island changed in that very moment.

“Typically, our modern lives filter out interactions with natural phenomena until something violent happens like an earthquake or wildfire,” says DeLellis. “Here in Hawaii, this powerful natural phenomenon, a volcanic eruption, is happening safely right before your eyes. Also, it’s relatively easy here in Hawaii.”

Accessibility and public visibility have certainly played a role in this increase in volcanic interest. A number of the planet’s roughly 1,500 active volcanoes now have hiking paths or even roads to get to the rim or base. You get all of the adventure without the training regime.

“Not only are volcanoes becoming more accessible to visit due to lowered flight prices around the world,” says Burrow, "but with social media, more travelers have come across the true beauty of volcanoes. It's made sights like Tongariro National Park, which many people may have never heard of five years ago, more desirable.”

Good old-fashioned science could also be at play here. Studies over the years have shown a link between an excess of dopamine in the brain and a propensity to participate in more dangerous activities. This surplus of dopamine has an association with a deviation in the DRD4 gene, which has been used to explain gambling and addiction but could also be tied to the urge to go on an adventure.

“There's a class of people who are thrill seekers: the bungee jumpers and cage divers,” says Reynolds. “But also this generation of people who are out of college, in the work force and want a life that's meaningful—to feel alive. Being close to an active volcano certainly does that.”

Perhaps it’s a combination of these things—craving a thrill, knowing where to go, and the shock and awe of what you actually see (then shared on social media)—that explains why travelers are planning volcano-seeking vacations. "The exact reasons do vary from person to person,” says Reynolds. But "it’s this connection with Mother Earth, the feeling like you're standing on top of a heartbeat—there's a visceral feeling from that. It's the blood of the earth and it's the only way you can be connected to that.”